On Saturday, the LigerBots kicked off the spirit for FIRST STEAMWORKS by visiting the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation and the studio of Todd Cahill.

The Charles River Museum is on the site of the first mill complex of the Boston Manufacturing Company, which sparked the Industrial Revolution after Francis Cabot Lowell brought back his mill plans from England. The team had the chance to see many of the antiques preserved at the museum, including steam engines, Linotype machines, the first mass-produced cars and watches, and steam-powered machine tools.

Todd Cahill is an artist and engineer who builds beautiful working models of 19th century steam technology and other sculpture from 19th century influences. At his studio, the team was able to learn about his machine tools, some from the 19th century, and some more modern, and see the process of designing and building sculpture from these 19th century influences.

The team hopes to be able to incorporate ideas from this experience into the team image during the upcoming FRC season!

The full album of images can be found on the LigerBots Flickr page.